Brian Skerry (United States)

Brian Skerry is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contract photographer for National Geographic Magazine covering a wide range of subjects and stories. An award-winning photographer, Brian is praised worldwide for his aesthetic sense as well as his journalistic drive for relevance. His uniquely-creative images tell stories that not only celebrate the mystery and beauty of the sea, but also help bring attention to the large number of issues that endanger our oceans and its inhabitants. His nearly year-round assignment schedule frequently finds himself in environments of extreme contrast from tropical coral reefs to diving beneath polar ice. While on assignment he has lived on the bottom of the sea, spent months aboard fishing boats and traveled in everything from snowmobiles to canoes to the Goodyear Blimp to get the picture. He has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater over the last thirty years. For NGM, Brian has covered a wide range of stories, from the harp seal’s struggle to survive in frozen waters to the alarming decrease in the world’s fisheries, both cover stories. Other features have focused on subjects such as the planet's last remaining pristine coral reefs, the plight of the right whale, sharks of the Bahamas, marine reserves, sea turtles and squid. He is currently at work on his 21th story for NGM. Brian has also worked on assignment for or had images featured in magazines such as Sports Illustrated, US News and World Report, BBC Wildlife, GEO, Smithsonian, Esquire, Audubon, Men's Journal. His latest monograph Ocean Soul, released in 2011, has received worldwide acclaim. Brian frequently lectures on photography and conservation issues having presented at venues such as TED Talks, The National Press Club in Washington, DC, Royal Geographical Society in London and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. He is also a regular guest on programs such as NBC’s TODAY Show, CBS’s Sunday Morning, ABC’s Good Morning America. He is also the Explore-In-Residence at the New England Aquarium in Boston. In 2010 National Geographic magazine named one of Brian’s images among their 50 Greatest Photographs Of All Time. He has had recent exhibits at Visa Pour l’Image in Perpignan, France as well as cities such as Geneva, Barcelona, Lisbon and Shanghai In 2012 he was honored with the Peter Benchley Award for excellence in Media. An exhibit of Brian’s work just opened in September at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.